Live To Be Loved
by thewolfinskarro
Summary: Now that Chase is dead, the monks want a little R&R, but can't when Wuya, Hannibal Bean, and Jack have teamed up to, once again, try and destroy the Xiaolin warriors. And is Chase really dead? RaiKim, OmiOC, ClayOC. 3rd in my Thunder and Lightning series.
1. Chapter 1

**Me: Nya! Kittalish here! And finally, the sequel to the sequel is here! Warning:_ I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU READ THIS FEELING THAT I HAVE AND LOVE IS IN THE AIR BEFORE READING THIS. BECAUSE THERE WILL BE TOPICS IN HERE WHICH WILL BE VERY CONFUSING TO NEW TIMERS TO MY STORIES. _**

**Cari: But if you are the kind of person who just jumps into a story without reading the stories before it, be my guest, as long as you review.**

**Me: One thing Cari and I have in common is we both live for reviews.**

**Cari: Absolutely. Let's make the A/N short and end it here.**

**Me: Alrighty. ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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"I can't take this anymore! This is our fifth battle this week!" Kimiko moaned from her spot on Dojo's back. The Xiaolin warriors were currently trying to celebrate their new Wu, the Blade of Elements, but it was hard when you were exhausted to the point of collapsing. Ever since Jack, Wuya, and Hannibal Bean had found out that Chase was dead, they had actually teamed up and now seemed like almost as big a threat as Chase had been. Almost.

"Name a part of my body and it hurts." Lilia winced as she moved slightly. Omi had opened his mouth to speak when Rai interrupted him.

"Sarcasm Omi." Omi closed his mouth.

"Is it just me, or is Spicer actually getting to be a threat?" Emeline asked, inclining her head. Things between her and the others had been a bit tense and frosty for a bit, but they made up after a while. Mainly after she made a blood oath to never betray them again.

"Yeah, his Jack-bots actually seemed dangerous." Clay said darkly, nursing a bruise on his shoulder.

"And don't even talk to me about Wuya. How did she even get all her power back?" Kimiko asked angrily.

"Eh. Bean probably gave them to her. The idiot probably didn't realize she's most likely gonna betray him." Rai said, fingering the new Wu. This Wu had the power to combine two or more elements together. It was the only way to control another Dragon's elements, not counting when Omi tried to master all the elements. Rai was itching to try it, but obviously couldn't when they were 30,000 feet in the air. He suddenly had an idea.

"Watch this." He blew a kiss to Kimiko before jumping off of Dojo.

"Dojo, stop!" Lilia cried. Kimi could only watch in horror as Rai plummeted to the ground.

"Rai's finally gone insane." Em whispered, horror-struck. Suddenly he surprised them all.

"Shoku star Wind!" he yelled. Rai propelled himself in mid-air.

"Blade of Elements! Wind! Fire!" the two elements combined in a spiral, which Rai was using to form a shape.

"What's he doing?" murmured Clay. Suddenly Kimiko saw it: he was writing her name in the sky. She could hear Lilia gasp and Em sigh as they also realized what he was doing. When he was done, he moved aside to let them see the entire thing. He grinned at them and floated safely onto Dojo's back. He smiled even more broadly on the looks of pure jealousy on Clay and Omi's faces. Finally Kimiko spoke.

"I don't know whether to kiss you or kill you. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Kimiko said indignantly, trying to pull off a mad look but failing miserably.

"But I didn't, did I bella?" he said, calling her by his per name for her.

"Besides, you knew I was safe the entire time, I 've been in way more danger than that." he stated matter-of-factly.

"Well yeah but-" he cut her off with a kiss. Immediately the others groaned.

"What? It's not like we don't see any of you going at it sometimes!" Rai said when the broke off.

"But not like you guys go at it!" Lil shot back. An argument broke out until Dojo yelled.

"Don't make me turn myself around!"

"Sorry Dojo!" they chorused.

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**Me: I am extremely sorry i didn't post this sooner. i've been swamped with homework and stuff like that, i didnt have time to post this.**

**Cari: Stop making excuses.**

**Me: They aren't excuses!!**

**Cari: Yes they are, and you know it!**

**Me: (brings out tazer)**

**Cari: You love to hurt me don't you?**

**Me: Well, i wouldn't have to hurt you if you didnt annoy me so much!**

**Cari: Read and review while i run from crazy lady with the tazer. (starts running)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: Hola, and welcome to chapter 2 of Live to be Loved. I am very sorry about not updating any of my stories, but i haven't had the time to update and crap, but i am grateful that no one has been bitching about it like LAST time, we wouldn't want a repeat of THAT author's note, which i deleted.**

**Cari: I don't see why people aren't bitching. It couldn't be cause ppl actually like your stories, could it?**

**Me: Must you always put me down?**

**Cari: Yes.**

**Me:(sigh) Ignoring that. Well, here we are, on with the story!**

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KA-BOOM!

Rai groaned into his pillow as he realized the temple was under attack.

"Who's turn is it to kick Spicer's ass?" he called out.

"No worries Rai, Omi and I will get it." Lilia called back. She and her boyfriend ran out in their Wudai robes. A few seconds later, Kimiko crawled into his arms.

"So, you wanna take bets on how long it takes for Omi and Lil to win the fight?" Kim asked, pulling Rai's covers up to her chin.

"Nah. I'm just so sick of someone, whether it's Spicer, Wuya, or Bean, attacking the temple at night. Pretty soon, we won't have any energy left to actually fight them." Rai said, wrapping his arms around her waist. Suddenly, they heard Lilia scream and they didn't hear Omi fighting at all.

"Something's wrong." Rai sensed it immediately.

"Let's go." Kimiko said, disentangling herself from his arms. They could see that Clay and Emeline were already up and running outside. When they got there, they saw Omi cowering in a corner, surrounded by 4 giant squirrels, and Lilia being chased by one of those horror movie clowns, the one's that look like they should be dead, but they're walking around killing people and stuff. In the center of it all was Jack, holding up the Shadow of Fear.

"You have got to be kidding me! Don't you have to be asleep for that to work?" Kimiko asked, outraged.

"No time for that, we have to help them. Come on, switch fears! Clay, Em, switch! Kim, you're with me. We have to get Lilia and Omi away from their fears." Rai commanded.

"Don't bother, Xiaolin losers. I'm unstoppable!" Jack was cut off in mid-rant by Kimiko's judolei flip.

"What was that about unstoppable?" she snarled before snatching up the Shadow of Fear.

"Kimiko! A little help!" Lilia yelled, still running.

"Cats Eye Draco! Arrow Sparrow!" Kimiko yelled, taking out her elemental Wu. She shot the flaming birds at the clown which in turn fell to the ground in flames.

"Thanks. I really thought I was done for." Lilia said, panting.

"No problem Lili-cat. Come on, you help Clay, and I'll help Em." Kimiko said quickly. Kim sprinted over to Emeline, who was battling Clay's grandmother.

"I swear, if all his family is like this, there is no way I'm going to meet them." Emeline said as she dodged an attack.

"Wudai Saturn Thunder!" Em yelled and shot out a powerful thunder wave that completely K.O.ed the old lady.

"Nice attack. Master Fung might just give you and Lilia your elemental Wu now." Kimiko complimented.

"I hope so. Yours is way awesome." Emeline said. Suddenly they saw Clay thrown across the courtyard by...something.

"What the hell is that?" Kimiko asked confusedly as the two girls ran over to see if Clay was ok.

"Umm, well, it's, ah, um..." Emeline said, embarrassed.

"Never mind, tell me later. Clay, you ok?" Kimiko yelled the last part.

"I'm fine, just help me with that thing!" he yelled.

"Wudai Mars Fire!"

"Wudai Crater Earth!"

"Wudai Saturn Thunder!" The three combined attacks made the thing disappear.

"Thank heaven that's taken care of." Clay said. They looked over to see Omi and Rai back to back fighting the squirrels.

"Who knew squirrels could be so tough? Anyone want to lend a hand here?" Rai yelled as he dodged a bite from one of the killer squirrels.

"Tiger Strike Lightning!" Lilia yelled. She attacked one of them, which left 3 to fight.

"Star of Hanabi Fire!" Kimiko used the Wu to engulf the squirrel in flames.

"Wudai Neptune Water!" Omi yelled.

"Shoku Star Wind!" Rai yelled. They attacked one of them at the same time which left Clay and Emeline with the last one.

"Wudai Crater Earth!"

"Wudai Saturn Thunder!" the duo attacked at the same time which finished off the last squirrel. They had finished fighting all the nightmares and all advanced on Jack.

"Why does this happen to me? I'm outta here!" Jack activated the Wings of Tinabi and flew off.

"Ok, how did he get his hands on the Wings of Tinabi?" Rai demanded.

"Whatever. I think that's the only Wu that's missing, thankfully. Now I need my beauty sleep before I get cranky, and you all know what happens when i get cranky." Lilia declared. Everyone hastly pushed her towards the sleeping quarters.

"I wonder when they'll stop attacking." Rai mused.

"Hopefully soon. I don't think i can take much more of this." Kimiko said tiredly. Rai immediatly scooped her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way. By the time they had gotten to the sleeping quarters, she was fast asleep. He laid her gently on her futon and kissed her forehead.

"Sleep well bella. You deserved it."

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"They beat me! Again!" Jack moaned from his seat on the floor.

"Not for longer. Our plan is finally complete, all we need to do is lure them to the House of Horrors. Soon, we will be rid of those pesky Xiaolin warriors for good!" Hannibal Bean ranted.

"Yeah, yeah. Honestly, at least Chase didn't rant as much as the bean does." Wuya muttered.

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**Me: i am soooooo sorry about the huge gap b/w updates, but i really will try to update this story especially more often. read and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Bonjour! Ca va? Moi, tres bien! Hehehehe, i love doing that to people. But anyway, here is Chapter 3!**

**Cari: You actually didn't take 3 months to update! i'm actually somewhat proud of you!**

**Me: Really, cause i thought-**

**Cari: And now I'm not.**

**Me: (sigh) Why does this not surprise me? Anyway, enough talk, on with the story!**

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"Wakey wakey! Up and at 'em! We got an active Wu!" Dojo yelled through a megaphone. Lilia stretched an arm out and grabbed Dojo's megaphone and threw it across the room and hit the wall. Then she rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Alright, I don't want to have to do this, but you guys leave me no choice. Orb of Tornami!" Dojo yelled, drenching all the sleeping Warriors in water. Immediately Lilia stood up, enraged. Dojo shrank back.

"Dojo, I can't believe you can't remember what happened the last time you woke me up before dawn. Well let me remind you, it certainly was not pretty." Lilia said dangerously. Rai put a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy girl. Save your anger for whatever's waiting for us when we get to the Wu." Rai said tiredly. Lilia relaxed slightly under his grip.

"Fine." was all she said, and sighed.

"Lets go. The sooner we bag this Wu, the sooner we can get back to bed." Rai said and made himself walk to the Shen Gong Wu vault and took out the Silver Manta Ray.

"Silver Manta Ray!" he said and threw the Wu into the air. When it had transformed, he got behind the wheel and waited until the others had climbed in. The majority of them had fallen asleep as soon as they had sat down, except for Kimiko, who could never go to sleep once she was awake.

"Hey Rai," Kimiko started, then stopped.

"What?" he asked.

"I just have this feeling, well, never mind, I'm probably just being paranoid." Kimiko said, shaking her head.

"No, what is it?" he prodded.

"I just have this feeling, that everything's gonna go wrong. I don't know how, or why, it's just a feeling..." Kimiko trailed off. Rai surprised Kimiko by ruffling her hair with one hand while he glanced at her tenderly.

"No matter what happens Kimi, I will always try my hardest to keep you and the others safe, no matter what." Rai said softly. He grabbed her hand and held it tight.

"No matter what." Kimiko whispered, then leaned back and closed her eyes. Behind her, she didn't notice as Lilia and Emeline smiled, having heard what Rai and Kim had just said.

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"Has anyone actually checked what our new Wu is?" Omi asked as they landed. Kimiko took the scroll out of her backpack. 

"The Night of Living Dreams. It's basically the same thing as the Shadow of Fear except the people you use it against don't have to be asleep for it to work." Kimiko read.

"Does it say anything else?" Rai asked thoughtfully.

"It also looks a lot like the Shadow of Fear." Kimiko added.

"Interesting." Rai nodded. What he said next surprised them all.

"Let's leave." Everyone started at him.

"WHAT?!" Kimiko and Lilia yelled angrily.

"Rai, there is no way you're gonna tell me that we woke up at 3:00 am for no good reason!" Kimiko glared at him.

"Sorry bella, but I don't think the Wu is here." Rai shrugged.

"And what makes you so sure?" Lilia seethed.

"If I'm right, and I think I am, the Heylin already have this Wu." he said simply.

"Raimundo, please reconsider. We have traveled this far already, we can at least look around." Omi pleaded.

"Alright, but I'm telling you, it's not here." Rai conceded and led the way into the nearby woods. The six Dragons split up and combed the area for the Shen Gong Wu. It was Emeline who found the house.

"Hey guys! I think I found something bad, very very bad." Emeline said, staring at it. The others ran up beside it, and everyone except Omi froze in fear.

"What is a very old house doing here?" Omi turned to look at everyone and noticed the look of either shock or fear in everyone's faces.

"What is wrong?" he asked confusedly.

"Omi, don't you know what that is?" Lilia asked in a shaky voice.

"No. What is it?" he asked.

"Th-that's the House of Horrors. Everyone knows about it." Rai said, looking pale.

"Everyone except Omi, that is." Kimiko corrected.

"What is so bad about this 'House of Horrors'" Omi asked, still confused.

"There are legends about this House. People who have been either crazy or brave enough to actually go into the house have disappeared and reappeared murdered somewhere remote. People say the ghosts of the people murdered haunt the house now, but anyone that can actually confirm that has never walked out of the doors of that house still alive." Clay said, shuddering.

"Hey Rai, you still up for leaving?" Lilia asked hopefully. Rai was about to respond to that when Jack,Wuya, and Hannibal Bean crashed through the bushes at the edge of the clearing and were about to run into the House when they spotted the Xiaolin warriors.

"Well well, if it ain't the Xiaolin Warriors. If you're here for the Wu, don't bother. It'll be impossible to get it, for you at least. It's smack dab in the center of the House of Horrors. Think you can make it?" Hannibal smirked at them before leading Jack and Wuya into the House.

"We have to go inside." Rai said. The others groaned.

"Why can't we just let them get the Wu, just this once?" Emeline asked.

"Can't you realize what would happen if Hannibal got his roots on the Night of Living Dreams? Our lives would be even more hellish than they are now!" Rai yelled at her. Em cringed back. Kimiko put a hand on his arm.

"Calm down Rai. Of course we're going in." Kimiko said softly. Rai sighed.

"Sorry Em. Just a bit stressed out, is all." Rai rubbed his eyes. Em nodded understandingly.

"Can I just have time to write my will?" Lilia asked.

"Sorry, no time. Follow me." Rai said before starting off for the House of Horrors.

"It's been nice knowing all of you. See ya in hell!" Lilia said before running after him.

"Come on, we have to follow them." Kimiko said, secretly wondering if this really was their last mission.

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"That's right. Come to me. Soon enough, I'll have my revenge on all of you." Chase smirked in the darkness. He raised the Shen Gong Wu in his hands.

"Night of Living Dreams." Chase whispered, as he was cloaked in the shadows as the Wu was activated.

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**Me: (evil laugh) Anyone freaked out yet?**

**Cari: If you keep scaring people away, no one's gonna read this. What will you do then?**

**Me: Keep writing for the hell of it!**

**Cari: (shakes head) Sometimes you scare me just by being you.**

**Me: Thank you! Read and Review!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Me: Hyas! Well, Chapter 4 is here! I haven't gotten much reviews lately. It's weird, not to sound braggy or anything, but before i would have gotten like, 5 reviews already for Chapter 3. But I am grateful to the faithful reviewers who have stuck by me since This Feeling That I Have. So, just for you, there's gonna be a special RaiKim ending to the story dedicated to all of my faithful reviewers.**

**Cari: Why do people even bother to review? I think they don't really like it.**

**Me: No one asked you.**

**Cari: And?**

**Me:(sigh) Never mind. On with the story!**

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"It's really dark in here. Everyone stay close, I don't want anyone to get lost here." Rai called over his shoulder.

"We should probably be more worried about Hannibal Bean, Jack, and Wuya. Who knows what they're up to here? They had a head start, so they probably found the Wu by now." Lilia said, a hint of hope in her voice.

"We're not going back Lil. Just in case they haven't found the Wu yet, we have to go in." Rai said determinedly.

"What was that?" Omi swiveled his head to the right.

"I didn't hear anything. Stop being so scared. We've faced worse than this before. This is nothing." Rai said, more bravely than he felt. They suddenly heard a scuttling noise coming from the corner.

"Probably just rats." Clay muttered.

"They better be rats." Kimiko said.

"Let's go!" Rai urged them forward. They walked through what they thought was the living room until they came to the stairs.

"Do you think they're safe?" Emeline asked.

"Let's hope so. Who wants to try them?" Rai asked looking for volunteers. Kimiko, Clay, Lilia, and Emeline all stepped back so Omi was the only one in front. Omi suddenly realized what happened while the color drained from his face.

"Sorry love, but I don't want to go up." Lilia said in a small voice.

"So Omi, want to go first?" Rai asked him.

"Y-yes. I'll go up first." Omi gulped and took a deep breath before putting a tentative foot on the first step. The floorboard creaked ominously, but didn't fall under his weight. Omi kept doing that until he was a few steps from the top floor. Then he froze.

"What's wrong Omi?" Rai asked. Omi slowly turned around, white as a sheet. He pointed to the second floor where there was a black fog rolling in.

"A black fog? Ok, yes, I admit, a fog in a closed house if very strange, and a black fog is even stranger, but it's just fog ." Rai said exasperated. That is, until the black fog took shape and started forming into...something.

"Hey Em, isn't that-" Kimiko started, then was cut off by Emeline's bloodcurdling scream.

"I need to get out. NOW!" she screamed, and ran for the door.

"Lilia, Kimiko, take care of that thing! Clay, calm her down!" Rai yelled.

"Judolei flip fi-" Kimiko was cut off by Lilia.

"No! This is a _wooden _house! You want to burn us all alive?!" Lilia yelled.

"Fine! You attack!" Kimiko yelled angrily.

"Fine! Tiger Strike!" Lilia attacked and got caught in the...whatever it was.

"Ugh, it's like tar, except really sticky!" Lilia struggled to get out.

"Wait, tar? That's it!" Kimiko summoned up a fireball in her hand and ran toward the tar-like thing. When she got close enough, she threw it into the center of the thing. The...thing, whatever you want to call it, started to harden from the inside, which gave Lilia an opportunity to break free and escape. When the thing had completely hardened, the two girls shattered it into bits.

"At least that's taken care of. You alright Em?" Rai asked the girl gently. She nodded silently.

"What was that?" Kimiko asked.

"I...I can't tell you." Em whispered and lightly ran up the stairs.

"At least we know the stairs won't break." Rai said and started climbing the stairs.

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"Is it just me, or does the house seem bigger on the inside than on the outside?" Clay asked nervously. 

"Yeah, I noticed it too. Wonder how the builders got it like this." Rai said.

"Who cares, all I want is to get out of here still breathing and in one piece." Lilia said.

"Careful what you wish for, you just might get it." Kimiko said distractedly. She was so busy examining a painting on the wall that she didn't notice when the others kept walking on without her.

"Hey guys, doesn't this woman look familiar?" Kimiko asked. When no one answered, she turned and saw an empty hall.

"Oh no, you can't be serious." Kimiko moaned. Finally, she sighed and started walking. What she didn't notice was Chase's crow sitting on a rafter.

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"That's right Kimiko. Come to me. Soon, I'll just take them down, one by one. Isn't that right, Jack?" he turned to the goth boy who was trapped in the Sphere of Yun.

"Oh, I never thanked you for the Night of Living Dreams." Chase smirked and watched as Kimiko went even further away from her friends, and right into his trap.

"What about Wuya and Hannibal? They're gonna come get me you know!" Jack said confidently.

"Do you honestly think they actually care about you? They think they were the one's to perfect the Xiaolin's destruction, but I was the one who planted the idea in their heads in the first place. They think they will be the one's to finally destroy the Xiaolin warriors, but in reality it will be I who did it, then once I get rid of you and them, there will be no one to stop me with world domination." Chase said, his cold eyes shining.

"Now all I have to do is wait."

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**Me: What's Chase up to this time? What awaits Kimiko in the trap? Will the Xiaolin warriors get out alive? When will I stop ranting like this? **

**Cari: Keep reading and wait for Chapter 5 to find out! Read and Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: Hyas! Well, here's Chapter 5! Do you know, its been exactly a month since I've updated this?**

**Cari: Unbelievable. And she says it so casually, knowing that there is gonna be a revolt somewhere in the future. Amazing.**

**Me: Cari, will you be quiet! Anyway, if i post an extra long chapter, will you guys forgive me?**

**Cari: Say no! Say nooooo!**

**Me: (brings out sword and swings menacingly) You might want to rethink that.**

**Cari: On second thought, say yes! For the love of God, SAY YES!**

**Me: Read and Review! **

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"Hey guys, where's Kimiko?" Rai asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Last I saw, she was staring at some painting of a woman." Lilia said.

"Crap. She must've gone the wrong way. We have to go back and find her." Rai said, before sprinting back the way they came.

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"Oh God, don't tell me I went the wrong way." Kimiko moaned. She had been walking for 10 minutes and she still hadn't found her team.

"Of all the places to get lost in, I pick the biggest death trap on the face of the Earth." she sighed and kept walking until she met two hallways that went opposite directions.

"You have got to be kidding me. I might as well take the left one." Kimiko said and started off in that direction. Suddenly she felt the house rumbling around her. She turned to see the entrance to the hallway being closed off by a sliding wall. It blocked the entrance, leaving her with only one way to go. Kimiko got her shen gong wu out and walked slowly down the hallway.

'Have to be on my guard. For all I know, Jack, Wuya, and Hannibal might be waiting to ambush me.' Kimiko thought. She got to the end of the hallway and stopped, for she saw her worst nightmare standing there at the end of the hallway.

"Hello Kimiko." Chase smirked evilly at her. Kimiko felt the color drain out of her face, and she backed away slowly.

"No. No. No. NO! You're supposed to be dead! I saw you die!" Kimiko whispered.

"No, Kimiko, you thought you saw me die. But, unfortunately for you, I'm very much alive." Chase said, sauntering forward.

'Have to fight my way out of here.' Kimiko thought. She watched for the first sign of attack from Chase.

"Night of Living Dreams." he said, pulling the Wu out from his back. Before Kimiko could react, she watched as the black fog that emerged from the Wu morphed into Omi's corpse. The corpse fell with a thud to the floor, its body mutilated horribly. Kimiko felt her body start to shake and heard a horrible noise come from nowhere.

'Is that me?' Kimiko thought numbly as she realized she was sobbing. She watched as the corpse morphed into the body of Clay, blood spilling from its mouth. Then Lilia, then Emeline, both their bodies horrible to look at. Then it morphed into Rai's corpse. At the sight of this, let out a scream while dropping to her knees.

'No. No, that isn't Rai. That's just the Wu. Pull yourself together Kimi-chan!" she kept thinking, but her mind wasn't making a connection with what she was seeing.

"See that Kimiko? That is what I am going to do to your precious Raimundo. I will take my revenge for all the humiliation I have had at his expense." Chase hissed. Kimiko could only shake her head, still sobbing. She wasn't aware of anything else, only Rai's body, her love's, mutilated on the floor. She wasn't aware of a tremendous crash, of Rai, Lilia, Omi, Clay, and Emeline crashing through the wall.

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Rai was trying to figure out which way Kimiko had gone when he heard a scream that he had hoped never to hear in his life.

"Kimi-cub." Lilia whispered. The five dragons sprinted toward the sound and found a wall between them. Loud sobs could clearly be heard through the wall.

"Kimiko. If those bastards hurt a single hair on her head, so help me God I am gonna kill them!" Rai growled before trying to crash through the wall, only to develop a bruised shoulder. Clay put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on partner. That's why we have Shen Gong Wu with us." Clay said, taking out the Fist of Tebigong.

"Fist of Tebigong!" Clay yelled, smashing through the wall. Rai jumped through the wall before Clay had withdrawn his arm.

"Kimiko!" he yelled, looking around. All he saw was Kimiko on her knees sobbing her heart out. He scooped her up in his arms and tried to comfort her.

"Kimiko, please honey, calm down. It's alright, it's alright. Shhh." Rai said soothingly, rubbing her back.

"Rai. Oh God Rai, it was horrible! You...and the others...blood..." Kimiko shuddered and continued sobbing.

"She's in shock. We have to get out now." Emeline said, voice shaking.

"Yeah, there's no use staying if the Wu's in the Heylin hands now." Rai said before jumping through the hole in the wall with Kimiko still in his arms, his team following right behind.

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**Me: Hola! Alright, someone asked about the painting of the woman that was in the previous chapter and how it was relevant. It's signifigance will be revealed in later chapters, but for now, i'll keep you guessing. ;)**

**Cari: Why did you have to do that to Kimiko huh? Why must you be so mean?**

**Me: Oh, like you can't be mean too.**

**Cari: No, I'm a perfect angel.**

**Me: ...um, k then. Anyways, r and r!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Me: Hello! Here is chapter-wait, what chapter is this?**

**Cari: How can you not know how many chapters your story has?**

**Me: I lose track, ok!**

**Cari: Whatever.**

**Me: Anyways here is chapter...um, whichever...for Live to be Loved! Enjoy!**

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"Kimiko? Honey? Say something, please." she could hear Rai's voice faraway.

"Wha? Rai? What happened?" she tried to say, but it was hard just to open her mouth.

"I think she's trying to talk. Kimi-cub, can you hear me girl?" Lilia's voice echoed in her head. Kimiko moaned and opened her eyes. She lay on the training field and surrounding her were Raimundo, Lilia, Clay, Omi, Emeline, Master Fung, and Dojo.

"Welcome back Kimiko." Master Fung said quietly. Kimiko groaned and sat up.

"What do you mean? Was I gone? What happened?" she asked when suddenly she was enveloped in 5 pairs of arms.

"Don't you ever do that to us again Kimiko!" Emeline cried, tears flowing freely down her face.

"We thought you were gone for good." Rai whispered, sounding like he was close to tears himself.

"What do you mean ´gone for good´?! Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Kimiko nearly yelled. Finally everyone let go of her and Rai stared at her with a confused look on his face.

"You mean you don´t remember?" Rai asked.

"Everyone, please give her some air. Kimiko, what is the last memory you have?" Master Fung asked patiently. Kimiko struggled to remember, when finally her memory came back all at once. She gasped and almost fell back down if Rai hadn´t caught her in time.

"Oh God. Oh my God. Rai, we have to hurry, I don´t know how much time we have. Chase, he´s-" her voice failed as she remembered how badly Chase had treated her.

"Kimiko, please calm down, what about Chase?" Lilia asked, frustrated.

"He´s...alive. He didn´t die with the Bird of Song. I don´t know he survived, but he did, and now he wants all dead." By the time she finished delivering the bad news everyone was in an uproar. It took several blasts of fire from Dojo to get everyone to finally quiet down.

"Kim, what exactly do you remember last?"

"The last thing I remember...I think I might have passed out while we were coming out of the House of Horrors." she said, shuddering.

"Kimiko, you said that was your last memory, right? Do you know that it´s been a week since that day in the House of Horrors?" Clay asked. She stood there for a moment, absorbing what he had just said, then started shaking her head slowly back and forth.

"That can´t be right, can it? Rai, it honestly hasn´t been a full week, has it?!" Kimiko asked, hysterical now. Rai could only nod his head sadly.

"But why don´t I remember anything after that day?!" She asked frustrated.

"I think that your mind was protecting itself from anymore damage, even though you still went through everyday motions." Master Fung said soberly.

"You've been like a zombie all this time, you haven't talked to anyone at all. But you still ate, still walked around, still trained. This morning you just passed out suddenly, we couldn't figure out what was wrong." Emeline said, the worry evident in her voice.

"Wait a minute. You mean Chase Young has been walking around free for a week?!" Kimiko's voice raised an octave on the last word.

"Calm down, bella. Chase hasn't tried anything this past week. And we're gonna make sure he doesn't." Rai said, determination the dominant emotion on his face.

"NO!" Kimiko cried, remembering with clarity what happened to him and Clay and Omi not so long ago.

"Raimundo, you cannot just go off on a whim and kill Chase Young. You must think this through." Master Fung cautioned.

"Yes, Master Fung." Rai said, bowing his head.

"Ugh, I'm just glad you're back to normal, Kimi-cub. I missed you." Lilia said, jutting out her lower lip.

"Aww, I missed you too, I think." Kimiko said, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Now, now, bella. No crying." Rai said, kissing away her tears.

"Sorry, I can't help it." she said, grinning sheepishly, the tears still coursing down her cheeks.

"Come on Kimiko. You need some serious R&R after what Chase did." Emeline shuddered delicately.

"Don't you guys want to know what happened exactly?" Kimiko asked, confused.

"Sure, but right now doesn't seem like the best time. You need food and a nap." Rai said, while leading Kimiko to the kitchens, the other four monks trailing behind.

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**Me: (hides behind huge shield) Ok, would it help if i said i was extremely sorry i haven't updated sooner?**

**Cari: I don't think so.**

**Me: Thanks for the support, Cari.**

**Cari: That's what I'm here for.**

**Me: I thought you were here to drive me insane?**

**Cari: That too, as Omi would say.**

**Me: (sigh) Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Me: Hi! Ok, to answer the first question a lot of you will have, no this is not a different person, i just changed my username to something that reminds me of chocolate.**

**Cari: Like you need more chocolate in your life.**

**Me: You can never have enough chocolate! Anyways, so sorry i haven't updated, but i am forever grateful to the people who actually take the time to read my fics, i love you all and to show you how much I care, here's a batch of cook-Cari, where are my cookies?**

**Cari: (mouth filled) Why do you always suspect me?! Why don't you ask Bob?!**

**Me:....Who the hell is Bob?**

**Cari: My point exactly.**

**Me: Ok then. Anyways, on with the show!**

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When Kimikoawoke a few hours later, she found herself in the arms of a certain brown-haired boy. She smiled and interwined her hand with his.

"I hope you had a nice nap, love." Rai murmured in her ear.

"Very nice. Although when I fell asleep I remember being in my futon, not in your very comfortable arms." Kimiko said, laughing when she turned her head just in time to see Rai blush.

"I couldn't help myself. You looked so lonely and it hasn't felt right, hugging you these past few days." Rai said, wincing as he remembered what had happened this past week.

"I guess I should tell you what happened between me and Chase." Kim said.

"Love, you don't-" Rai was cut off by a kiss from Kimiko. When they finally broke apart, he smiled at her.

"You don't know how much I've missed that." he said, but then turned sober as they got back on topic.

"Kimiko, you really don't have to tell me now. It can wait." he said.

"But I want to. The sooner I get it off my chest, the better." Kimikosaid, and then commenced telling her side of the story. When she had finished, Rai's hands were balled up into fists and he looked like he would happily hunt down Chase Young and kill him with his bare hands.

"If he even thinks of coming within a 50 foot radius of you, I will kill him." Rai snarled. Kimiko leaned on Rai's chest. She wanted to tell him not to make rash decisions, but in truth, she wanted Chase dead too.

"Ok, Rai. I've said my bit. Now what've I missed?" Kimiko asked in an attempt to change the subject, which actually worked.

"Well, for starters, we have new attacks. Omi's jealous of mine, though he won't admit it." Rai smirked. Kimiko laughed.

"So when do I learn mine?" she asked.

"Now, if you want. The sooner the better." he said. Kimiko got up and pulled Rai up to his feet. Hand in hand, they walked out into the brilliant sunshine and over to the Shen Gong Wu vault, where Master Fung was. Kimiko and Rai both bowed before him.

"Master Fung, I want to learn my new attack now." Kimiko said.

"Very well Kimiko. Let us go to the training grounds." Master Fung said, and led the two Dragons-in-Training to the training grounds where Omi was sparring with Lilia. Kimiko, Rai, and Master Fung paused to see how the fight would go.

"Wudai Dragon Levitas!" Lilia shouted, and to Kimiko's amazement, it seemed like Lilia had turned into pure lightning as she tried to aim for Omi. Not-so-luckily for her, Omi was too fast.

"Wudai Dragon Aqua!" Omiyelled as he jumped to avoid Lilia's attack. When she hit the ground instead of Omi, he surrounded her in a bubble of water.

"Ugh! Fine, you win." Lilia said, rolling her eyes. Omi grinned as he lightly landed on his feet.

"Wait, why didn't Lilia just walk through the water?" Kimiko asked.

"Because that water is boiling hot. Actually, I think it's hotter than that. Point is, the only one that can stand that is Omi. So unless someone wants 2nd degree burns, they better not go anywhere near that water." Rai clarified for her. Omi took down the water bubble and Lilia jogged to where Rai and Kim were. She bowed to Master Fung and then turned to them.

"Hey Kim. I see you're awake! I can't wait to see your attack! Are you going to show her now?" this last comment she directed towards Master Fung.

"Yes. If you would all give us some room?" he asked and everyone immediately ran over to the sidelines to watch.

"Now Kimiko as I hope you noticed, Omi and Lilia both said 'Wudai Dragon' before the actual attack name. Since your element is fire, naturally, your attack name is Ignis. Now, when attacking, all you really do is let your mind and body do what they need to do in order to execute the attack. Would you like to try now?" he asked her. Kimiko glanced at the sidelines to see that Clay and Emeline had joined the others.

"Alright! But I would feel a bit more comfortable if I were fighting someone so that I would actually have a target." Kimiko said.

"Very well. Raimundo, please spar with Kimiko." Master Fung said.

"Sure!" Rai said while jogging over to where they were.

"Ready to go down Rai?" Kimiko taunted. Rai laughed.

"Yeah right. More like I'm ready to win!" he said as they got into position. First they bowed to each other, and then crouched into a defensive position. Suddenly, Kimiko felt a breeze shift her hair, and realized that Rai was going to attack.

"Shoku Dragon Ventus!" Rai yelled as he crossed his arms into an X-shape and ran toward Kimiko.

"Judolei Flip!" Kimiko yelled and jumped just in time to miss being cut by what she realized were literally windblades. But then she realized that the wind blades were doubling back and were still aiming for her.

"Wudai Dragon Ignis!" she yelled, and immediately felt an all-consuming fire burn within her. Feeling a desperate need to release the heat within her, she concentrated on the fire and letting it out and suddenly felt it all rush out at once. She heard the gasps coming from all sides of her and could sense Rai stopping dead in his tracks, but she couldn't really see anything. Everything was red all over, but instantly her gaze cleared and she was able to see what everyone else saw, which made her gasp as well. Towering in front of her was a huge dragon made of fire. Kimiko could only stare in shock but soon got control of her body again. Tentatively, she reached out with one hand to touch the fire dragon and realized to her it was cool to the touch. The dragon turned to look at her and she detected a hint of protectiveness in its ruby red eyes. Master Fung then surprised everyone by walking right up to the dragon and bowing to it. And to everyone's amazement, the dragon bowed right back.

"Kimiko, call back your dragon." Master Fung said.

"How?" she asked.

"Just will the fire back into yourself." he said. Kimiko didn't want the fire back inside of her but she had to obey orders. Surprisingly, she didn't feel anything as the dragon dematerialized and the fire returning to her.

"Wow." was all that she could say. Everyone else just seemed in shock.

"Well Kimiko, the Dragon of Fire appearing before you can only mean that you entitled to become the Hanikara, or second in command." Master Fung said calmly as all jaws dropped to the floor.

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**Me: Wow, its been ages since i have ended with a cliffie. Ahh, the good ole days. Anyways, review plz!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Me: Hello, people of the world! Welcome back! **

**Cari: Enough with the chit-chat, introduce the next chapter already!**

**Me: Fine, fine! (mutters) Impatient, much?**

**Cari: (glare)**

**Me: Alright! Miss Impatient over here doesn't want to wait, so on with the story!**

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"Did. He. Just. Say. Second-in-Command?" Kimiko stammered. Rai had walked up to her and had wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I think so. Master Fung, you never said anything about me having a second-in-command." Rai said respectfully.

"First, I would appreciate it if you would call it, or her, Hanikara. Second, I didn't say anything, because I wasn't sure if you would have one at all." Master Fung said.

"Wait a minute. So, what would I have to do as Hanikara?" Kimiko said, warming up to the idea already.

"You would begin private training sessions with Raimundo and myself, and in battle, you would make sure Raimundo's orders were followed. And in the event of an emergency, or if something happened to Raimundo that makes him incapable of leading all of you, you, Kimiko, as Hanikara, would have to be temporary Shoku Warrior." Master Fung said, as Kimiko's eyes widened.

"Hold on there. I still don't get what was up with the dragon." Lilia said. She, Clay, Omi, and Emeline had now joined Master Fung, Kimiko, and Raimundo on the field.

"Ah. Kimiko, that was the Dragon of Fire. Each one of you has a dragon of your element inside of you that fuels you with your powers. When you die, the dragon goes in search of the next warrior of their element. With the new powers that I taught you, all your attacks would vary by element. For some reason, the Dragon of Fire seems to be Kimiko's attack. The Dragon of Fire is meant to protect, and it only attacks if Kimiko is in danger. Otherwise, if you call your attack, Kimiko, it would have to be for defense, not offense. Do you understand?" Master Fung asked her. Kimiko nodded, still a bit shocked by what had happened.

"Well then, Kimiko, I expect Raimundo will wake you earlier than usual to begin your training with us." Master Fung said, and walked off.

"Kimi-cub? You alright? You look pale." Lilia said worriedly.

"I'm alright." Kimiko said, even though her stomach wouldn't stop turning.

"I don't think there's anything to be nervous of." Emeline said quietly, picking up on Kimiko's nervousness.

"Yeah, Kim. I still think Raimundo has the unlucky job of picking after us goofs." Clay said, grinning when Rai stuck his tongue out at him.

"Of course, I would not mind if you did not want the job and would want to pass it on to..oh, i do not know, me, perhaps?" Omi said hopefully. Kimiko smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Not gonna happen Omi." Kimiko said. Raimundo put his arm around Kimiko's shoulder.

"Listen, bella. All you really have to do is train harder, really. I doubt anything's gonna happen to me, and they know to follow my orders, unless its life or death." Rai said, gesturing to Omi, Clay, Emeline, and Lilia.

'Wow. I have some really awesome friends.' Kimiko thought as she grabbed Rai's hand and squeezed it. She smiled at everyone.

"Thanks." Kimiko said quietly.

"Oh my gosh, this so calls for a group hug!" Lilia squealed. At her suggestion (more like demand) everyone crowded together and lo and behold, hugs galore!

"Hey Rai?" Kimiko said, still in the group hug.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"I just thought of something. What time do I have to get up?" she asked.

"Ahh, well...." Rai trailed off, clearly nervous.

"Rai..." Kimiko said warningly.

"Yeah, I was curious about that too. What time do you get up at Rai?" Emeline asked.

"Well.....try not to kill me, 'kay?" Rai said nervously.

"Come on Raimundo, it can't be too bad." Clay said.

"4:30." Rai muttered. There was total silence.

"I. Have. To. Get. Up. At. 4:30. In. The. Morning." Kimiko said dangerously.

"You might want to run, partner." Clay whispered to Rai.

"Oh, you better run." Kimiko said. That was all it took. Rai shot off faster than a bullet, with Kimiko running after him. The others just looked on after them, chuckling.

"Not even their love for each other can quell Kimi-cub's temper." Lilia remarked.

"True." Omi said.

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Meanwhile, in the darkness of the House of Horrors, Chase smirked to himself.

"So. Kimiko has been named the new Hanikara. Well, my dear Kimiko, good luck solving all the problems I have for you. Oh wait! But you can't do that unless you become Shoku warrior, can you? Which means Raimundo must be disposed of. Ah well, that can be arranged." Chase said. He laughed as he called back his black raven, which was perched in a tree at the Xiaolin Temple.

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**Me: Whew! I so didn't think I would finish, considering i started late in the day. Oh, and for the people who haven't figured it out yet, when Rai says 'bella', it means beautiful. Review plz!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Me: Hey Hey! So, I'm not exactly sure there's anyone out there still reading my stories.....i really hope so! so in case you're out there, enjoy!**

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"Alright Kimiko, that was great! You're getting better at this! You can do it!"

Raimundo kept up the endless stream of encourages while Kimiko resisted the urge to clock him. Exhausted, she plopped down right where she stood, tuning Rai out. It had been about 3 weeks since Kimiko found out she was Hanikara. That first day of training was brutal, for her, at least. For Rai, it seemed like second nature. At the end of that day, she thought it couldn't get any worse. Oh, how wrong she was. The training had gotten increasingly harder everyday. Today, her task was to try and get to the next level of fire. Apparently Wudai wasn't high enough. So for the past 4 hours she had been trying to call up her Hani Dragon Ignis attack, but so far, no luck.

"What's wrong bella? You really are doing great! See, you were so hot you actually left a scorch mark on the rock." Rai pointed out. Kimiko sighed.

"Did you see any actual fire, Rai?" she asked quietly.

"Ah well, not exactly but come on Kimi! You can't give up!" Rai said.

"Who said anything about giving up?" she growled through her teeth as she stood up. She sighed as she got into the attack position.

"Hani Dragon Ignis!" she yelled, and once again, she could feel the fire coursing through her, but still no actual fire. She was about to call the attack off again when she felt the dragon in her stir inside her.

'Come on dragon. Aren't you supposed to be helping me?' Kimiko sent the message mentally to the dragon. It's not like she was expecting the dragon to answer back. So when it did, her heart nearly stopped.

'I am helping you, Mistress Kimiko.' the dragon's voice was deep and throaty, and it echoed in her ears.

"Kimi? You OK, hon?" Rai's concerned face came into view. But right now, Kimiko was too shocked to answer.

'You can talk to me?!' Kimiko thought.

'Yes. Now, how badly do you want to be able to use your attack?' the dragon asked.

'Very badly.' By now, Kimiko had recovered somewhat.

"It's OK, Rai. I'm just talking to my dragon. Shut up for a sec." Kimiko assured him. Then she closed her eyes to concentrate better.

'Why do you want to learn this attack?" the dragon asked.

"To be able to protect my friends. I can't do that if I'm not strong enough." she fiercely thought.

'Very well. We will have to work together to achieve this. Are you willing to do that?'

'Yes.'

Meanwhile, Raimundo was trying very hard not to panic. Kimiko had gone as still as stone and had been like that for two minutes now.

"What does she mean, talking to her dragon?" Rai thought out loud. He went over to her and took her face in his hands, willing her to wake up out of her trance, or whatever it was. Suddenly, Kimiko's eyes flew open, and they weren't their usual sapphire blue. They were a deep, fiery red.

"Step back, Raimundo." Kimiko said, only it wasn't just Kimiko's voice, there was this deep undertone to it. Rai didn't even stop to think, he used his wind powers to propel him against the cliff walls and away from Kimiko.

"Hani Dragon Ignis." she said. The fire appeared around her feet, spiraling upwards until Kimiko was completely engulfed in flames. And then it spread out, covering everything in its path in fire. Kimiko was at the center, controlling the fire with her hands. Rai just stood there in awe, believing but not believing that this was really happening, that his Kimiko was this powerful.

After what seemed like forever, but what was really only a few minutes, the fire died out, leaving Kimiko standing there.

'Thank you, dragon.' Kimiko thought fervently.

'You are welcome, Mistress. Remember, I am always here if you need assistance. Just call for me, and I will come.' the dragon's faded and Kimiko was left with her own thoughts. Suddenly feeling very weak, she started to fall forward, but Rai caught her.

"I did it Rai." Kimiko said, smiling weakly up at him. Raimundo smiling back at her was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

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**Me: Hello again! So extremely sorry for the humungous gap between updates, I just haven't had any creative juices flowing until recently. Please review, whomever is left!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Me: Yes, I am back! (For now, at least) I have no witty remarks right now, so enjoy the story! :)**

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"Wow. So amazing." Emeline breathed. The others nodded with wide eyes. Kimiko had just finished telling Master Fung and the others what had happened on the cliffside, and they were shocked, to say the least.

"What do you think?" Rai asked Master Fung.

"Kimiko, you have done very well today in regards to your new powers. Now, you must take extra caution in not drawing unwanted attention to yourself. The Heylin would love nothing more than to be able to use your power for their gain." Master Fung said solemnly. Kimiko was about to respond when Dojo came slithering into the room.

"Hey guys and girls, we have a Wu alert!" Dojo held up the scroll to Rai.

"The Xiaolin Gauntlets. Whoever wears these has the ability to increase their power 10-fold." Rai read from the scroll. Clay whistled and tipped his hat back.

"That is a helluva lot of power." Lilia stated.

"Which is why we must not let the Heylin get this Shen Gong Wu!" Omi said fiercely.

"Omi's right. Alright everyone, get dressed and meet me in front of the vault in 5." Rai ordered.

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"So where are we headed Dojo?" Clay yelled over the roar of the wind.

"The Amazon Rainforest." Dojo yelled back.

"Uh guys, we have company!" Lilia pointed below them. Hundreds of Jack-bots were headed towards them, and in the center of it all was Jack.

"Crap! We don't have time for this!" Rai shook his head in anger.

"Raimundo! You go on ahead! Lilia and I will take care of Jack Spicer." Omi yelled.

"We'll be able to get back with the Silver Manta Ray." Lilia added.

"Alright guys, good luck, and be careful!" Rai yelled as they jumped off Dojo.

"Ready to have some fun Omi?" Lilia asked him as they landed on some Jack-bots.

"Always, my love." He smiled at her.

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The next obstacle didn't come until the four warriors were actually in the Amazon.

"I hope Omi and Lilia are OK." Emeline said worredly as they landed on the lush forest floor.

"Relax Emmy." Clay put an arm reassuringly around her shoulders. "You know Omi would rather die than lose to Spicer. And Lilia can definetly take care of herself."

"I wouldn't worry about them, right about now." came a familiar drawl behind them. They turned to see Wuya and Hannibal Roy Bean stepping out from the trees, both with identical evil grins on their faces.

"Oh great. Just what we need. The hag and the baked bean." Kimiko said disgustedly.

"Now now Kimiko. Play nice. We wouldn't want something to happen to you, now would we?" as he was talking, one of Hannibal's roots shot out straight for Kimiko, but just as it was about to impale her, Rai grabbed the root with one hand and stopped it, the look in his eyes murdurous.

"So the Shoku warrior has gotten a bit more powerful? Well, we'll just have to put a stop to that." Wuya smiled darkly.

"Oh no you won't." Clay and Emeline planted themselves firmly in defensive positions between Rai and Kim and Wuya and Bean. Emeline tossed her long hair over her shoulder and turned to smile at her friends.

"We will take care of these two. You go on ahead. We have the Crouching Cougar; We'll be able to catch up." she turned back to face the Heylin with a dark scowl on her face. Rai and Kim shared a glance then nodded uneasily.

"Fine." was all he said before taking Kim's hand and propelling them deep into the forest.

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Raimundo and Kimiko looked for an hour before they stopped to rest. Panting, their robes clinging to their bodies with sweat, they plopped down onto the floor to catch their breath.

"Why haven't we heard from any of them? It shouldn't take this long to kick their butts." Rai growled. He got up and started pacing. Kimiko leaned wearily against a tree and watched him.

"Omi and Lilia should be here by now. Spicer is barely a threat. Wuya and Hannibal Bean though..." his voice trailed off. Suddenly he stopped his manical pacing and whirled to face Kimiko, the blood drained from his face.

"They've been captured. Or worse. That's why they're not here. We have to go back." he ranted. Then Kimiko did something very unexpected.

She walked up to Rai and slapped him across the face. Rai was too shocked to even move. His bewildered emerald eyes bored into her fiery sapphire ones.

"Get a hold of yourself Rai. Right now, our priority is to find the Wu. Once we have it, we'll worry about the others. But don't forget that they can take care of themselves. It would not be good if the Heylin get their hands on the Gauntlets, especially Chase." Kimiko said his name with loathing.

"I'm afraid you're a bit too late for that, Kimiko." Chase's cool voice came floating from the trees above them. They whipped their heads up to see Chase standing on a thick tree branch, holding the Gauntlets.

"Oh no." Kimiko whispered, horrorstruck.

"Hello Raimundo. It's been a while. I recall that last time we saw each other you tried to kill me." Chase's eyes grew icier.

"Just repaying the favor." Rai said coolly. Chase smirked.

"So you gonna give us the Gauntlets, or do we have to fight?" Kim asked menacingly, summoning up fireballs in both her hands.

"You wouldn't dare." Chase's smirk widened. Kimiko growled under her breath.

"He's right. You could burn the forest, and us, down. Let me handle it." Rai murmured to her.

"Crest of the Condor! Blade of the Nebula!" he yelled, bringing out his elemental Wu.

Chase jumped out of the way at the last second, only to land on another tree branch. Rai followed him, jumping on thicker tree branches. Kimiko stayed on the ground, analyzing the fight.

'There's something different about this fight.' Kimiko wondered about this as she watched Raimundo and Chase fight. Suddenly, she realized two things at exactly the same time that made her blood run cold.

One, as they were fighting, they were getting higher and higher in the trees.

Two, _Chase wasn't fighting back._

Which could only mean one thing to Kimiko. She started panicking as soon as she jumped to the first branch.

"They're too far ahead, I won't get there in time!" she said to herself. So the took a deep breath.

"Rai! Get back! It's a trap!" Kimiko yelled, all the while jumping to where they were. The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. She saw Rai turn at the sound of her voice, saw Chase bring out the Tangle Web Comb and aim it at Rai. Saw Rai get caught, and tried to tell him to relax, that that was the key to escaping the Comb, only no sound came out of her mouth. She tried to jump faster, to save Rai, but still couldn't reach them. Finally, Chase brought out something Kimiko wasn't expecting: the Ying Yo Yo.

"Catch us if you can, Kimiko." Chase taunted her. He opened a portal to the Ying Yang World and threw Rai in. With one last smirk to Kimiko, he jumped in after Rai. As the portal closed, Kimiko noticed a white light surrounding her, so she looked down and was dismayed to see that her purple and white Hanikara robes had changed, and that she was now wearing Rai's Shoku Warrior robes.

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**Me: So, you guys like it or not? Review please! But first, some things I want to bring up. First, thank you guys and girls for putting up with me and my insane updates. I really do appreciate the nice reviews everyone still leaves me! Second, I want to change the ages in this story because I pretty much have the ending planned out, and something's gonna happen at the end, and I would prefer the characters to be a bit older. So instead of the 16-17 age range, I'm changing it to 18-20, Omi and Lilia being 18, Kimiko 19, and Clay, Rai and Emeline 20. Third, I know it's sad, but this story is nearing the end. (cries) I know, so sad. Anyways, I'm not sure whether to continue the Thunder and Lightning series, or just finish it with this story. Because I can do both. So, I'm leaving it up to you! There's a poll on my page, just go there and vote! (takes deep breath) Ok, now I'm finished. Byeas!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Me: Ohmygoshshesback! (hides behind conveniently placed tree)**

**Cari: Hey Kitty! Where are you? **

**Me: Kitty is not here right now. Please leave a message.**

**Cari: Har har, very funny. For those of you who don't know, Kitty here bound and gagged me and then shipped me off to Colombia. Nice, huh?**

**Me: In my defense, I didn't know she'd be able to get back at all. (ducks and narrowly misses being hit with a baseball bat)**

**Cari: Better run and hide Kitty, 'cause I'm gonna getcha! **

**Me: Please enjoy Chapter 10 while I go and run for my life.**

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Kimiko was literally seeing red. As she sprinted through the dense forest, everything was in a red haze. When she got to the clearing where she and Rai had left Clay and Emeline, she saw that Omi and Lilia had joined in the fight, and that the Xiaolin monks had managed to win some Wu. Unfortunately, the Shen Gong Wu they really needed was back at the temple.

"Hey Kimi-cub, guess who won another-" Lilia said cheerfully, then stopped cold when she realized that Kimiko was alone and she was wearing Shoku robes.

"What happened?" Omi asked flatly. Kimiko took a deep breath to steady herself, to no avail.

"Chase happened. He ambushed me and Rai, but I didn't realize until it was too late that it was a trap and now Rai's in the Ying Yang World with Chase and if anything happens to him it'll be my fault." Kimiko's voice broke at the end. In a flash, Emeline and Lilia had their arms wrapped around Kimiko, hugging her tight.

"Do not blame yourself, Kimiko. What happened, happened. Don't think about that anymore." Emeline said soothingly.

"Instead, think about how we're gonna go and rescue Rai." Lilia said.

"But Chase has the Gauntlets. He'll beat us all to a pulp." Kimiko whispered, the red haze gone, only to be replaced by the feeling of hopelessness.

"Chase Young may have the Xiaolin Gauntlets, but even so, he will crumble against the might of the Xiaolin Warriors." Omi said encouragingly.

"No matter what happens, Kimiko, even if we have to go down, we're gonna go down fighting." Clay said. Kimiko looked around at her friends, and as she looked, she felt her throat tightening and her eyes start to water.

"Thanks. I really needed that." she said, and wiped her eyes dry.

"Hey, that's what we're here for!" Lilia gave Kim a cheeky grin and a wink.

"So what's the plan?" Clay asked her, which reminded Kimiko of her role as their new leader.

"The plan is, we go in the Ying Yang World, kick Chase's ass, get Rai and get out. Got it?" Kimiko stated simply.

"I doubt it's gonna go that easy." Emeline said as the five warriors climbed onto Dojo to fly back to the temple.

"I never said it was gonna be easy." Kimiko said.

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Kimiko tightened her Cat's Eye Draco over her arm and made sure her Arrow Sparrow were in a bag tied near her waist. After a second of thought, she also decided to bring the Blade of Elements with her. Kimiko looked around to see that everyone else had their elemental Wu, except for Lilia and Emeline, who still hadn't received theirs yet. The monks trooped out of the Wu vault and stood in a loose semi-circle formation around Master Fung.

"My young warriors, I have seen you grow from young teenagers into proud adults. Know that I love all of you as if you were my own children and that I want no harm to befall upon any of you. Which is why you must try your absolute best to _not _involve Chase Young in a Xiaolin Showdown because with the Xiaolin Gauntlets, he will be very powerful, and very dangerous. I wish you all the best of luck and a safe return home." Master Fung looked them all in the eye and what he saw there made him very proud. Kimiko stepped forward and made a low bow.

"Yes, Master Fung." Kimiko said, then surprised everyone by giving him a hug.

"I promise I'll bring Raimundo home." Kimiko whispered, then before she could get emotional, brought out the Yang Yo Yo.

"Yang Yo Yo!" Kimiko opened up a portal the Ying Yang World and jumped through, followed by Omi, Clay, Emeline, and Lilia. The portal closed as Master Fung looked sadly after them.

"Take care, my young ones."

* * *

'How in the hell did I end up the damsel in distress?!' Rai thought furiously to himself.

After Chase had kidnapped him and sent them both into the Ying Yang World, Chase had brought him to the section of the World where all the Chi were kept. Right now, Chase had a Chi bottle in his hands with the name Kiyomi written on it in Kanji. The name was vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't figure out why. What was really getting on his nerves, however, was the fact that Chase just wouldn't stop gloating. So for now, Rai tuned him out and sent his thoughts somewhere else.

'Kimiko, where are you? Please be safe.'

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me. How is it so hard to find an evil maniac and a Shoku warrior?" Lilia cried, running her hand through her hair.

It seemed to Kimiko that they had been searching for hours and still no sign of Chase and Rai. She was starting to get desperate, so to distract herself, she thought of places in the Ying Yang World where they hadn't searched. Which really wasn't that easy, considering there were very few landmarks here. Suddenly she gasped.

"Chi!" she exclaimed. Everyone else just stared at her. Then, Omi snapped his fingers.

"I had forgotten about that! The shelves with the Chi bottles, we have not looked there yet!" he said excitedly.

"What?" Emeline looked to Clay for help.

"Oh, that's right, you girls haven't been to the Ying Yang World before, have you? Well, there's this place where they have shelf after shelf of Chi. It's guarded by the Chi Monster." Clay clarified for Lilia and Emeline.

"The Chi Monster doesn't sound very friendly." Lilia said, rolling her eyes.

"Just leave it alone and it will not bother you." Omi said, taking her hand.

"Ok, so which way is it?" Emeline asked.

"That way." Kimiko, Clay and Omi said in unison, pointing in different directions.

"Uh oh." Lilia muttered to Emeline.

"No offense, Kimiko, but I think it's that way." Clay said.

"I am sorry to disappoint you both, but I am certain that it is that way." Omi insisted stubbornly.

"Well I say it's that way." Kimiko crossed her arms. The three of them stared at each other, while Lilia and Emeline just waited for them to stop acting like kids and decide on a direction.

"Ugh, would you guys just stop it?! We are wasting precious time here. Look, Emmy and I are going this way, whether you like it or not. You guys can either follow, or stay there and act like brats while Chase has Raimundo." Lilia said angrily, then she and Emeline started to walk away from them. After a few seconds, Clay, Kimiko and Omi followed.

"I really do suck at this leadership thing. No wonder we ended up as Spicer's prisoners." Kimiko said after a few minutes of silence, referring to the future Omi had seen if Kimiko had been chosen as leader.

"You'd make a great leader Kimiko. You would just have to work on your stubbornness, that's all." Emeline assured her. Omi was about to add to that when Lilia stopped suddenly.

"Hey, we were right!" she said, pointing ahead. There, ahead of them, were the shelves of Chi bottles. In front of the shelves were Chase and Rai, the latter still tied with the Tangle Web Comb. The warriors ran toward them, then stopped when they saw one of Chase's cats guarding Rai.

"You've come just in time for the grand finale." Chase smirked at them as he dropped the Chi bottle in his hand onto the ground. What he took out next shocked the warriors.

"Gem of Life." Chase said, pointing the Wu at the puddle of Chi. Everyone watched as the Chi began to morph itself into the shape of a woman. The woman had silky black hair that fell past her waist, and dark brown eyes. Unfortunetly, the woman was also naked, and as soon as Rai, Clay and Omi realized this, they turned quickly away. When the woman stood tall and complete, Chase tossed her a Mandarin-style dress robe, similar to the one Kimiko wears as her Hanikara robe. Kimiko, however, saw none of this. She was transfixed on the woman's face.

'I've seen her before. She's the woman in the painting at the House of Horrors.' Kimiko thought. But it wasn't until the woman looked her in the eye that she saw another connection. To everyone's surprise, the woman named Kiyomi spoke to Kimiko, and the sound of her voice brought back deep memories Kimiko had thought she had buried in her heart.

"Konnichiwa, my little Kimi-chan." Kiyomi said.

'No. That's impossible. She can't be...' Kimiko's breathing accelerated as she tried to sort out her jumbled thoughts.

"Kimiko, who is she?" Lilia asked uncertainly, turning to look at her sticken face.

"That's my mother." she whispered.

* * *

**Cari: Whoa. I so didn't see that coming.**

**Me: You and everyone else. Ok, peeps, I hope you enjoyed that chapter, and I would REALLY like it if you would review, 'cause I live for reviews. Oh, and I have a request. I'm looking for someone who can draw. Like, really draw. Cause I've been wanting someone to draw a picture of Lilia and Emeline for me. No special reason, I just would really like that. So if you would be willing to draw me a picture of them, PM me please!**

**Cari: Betcha $20 that no one steps up.**

**Me: You are so on. Anyways, byeas!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Me: Hi there! It's me again!**

**Cari: Joy...**

**Me: Oh be happy for once! I just celebrated my 16th birthday and while i didn't get the car i wanted (sadly) i still had a kickass time!**

**Cari: Did you at least save me some cake?**

**Me: Surprisingly yes, as long as you refrain from annoying the hell out of me.**

**Cari: Yeah yeah, just give me the cake!**

**Me: (sigh) Some things never change. Oh well! On with the show!**

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Everyone stared in shock from Kimiko to Kiyomi, none of them believing that this could really be happening.

"Surprised you, didn't I?" Chase chuckled.

"Just what do you think you're playing at Chase?" Lilia asked savagely.

"Oh you'll see in a bit, Miss Agapeto. Now, while it truly pains me to break up this little family reunion," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Kiyomi, to my side, please."

Kimiko watched as her own mother went and stood by her enemy. Where once in her eyes there was warmth and compassion, now there was nothing at all.

"What do you want with me? Why do all of this to me?!" Kimiko's voice cracked.

"Would you believe me if I said you were an easy target?" Chase smirked at her. At his comment, Kimiko became enraged once more and flew to attack Chase, but before her attack could hit its mark, Kiyomi stepped in front of him to block her way. Kimiko immediately retreated, tears forming in her eyes.

"Now, let's play a game, shall we? I assume that, other than to rescue your precious Raimundo, you also came here to get these." Chase held up the Xiaolin Gauntlets and the Ying Yo Yo. The Xiaolin Warriors immediately assumed defensive positions, at which Chase let out a laugh.

"So paranoid. As you should be. So, here's how the game will work. You can have both the Xiaolin Gauntlets and the Ying Yo Yo if you can find them." he pulled out the Golden Tiger Claws and ripped a portal in the air. He then threw the Gauntlets and the Ying Yo Yo inside.

"Not even I know where they will end up. If you get to the Shen Gong Wu first, you get the Wu and I will free Kiyomi from my control. But if I win, I get the Shen Gong Wu and I will get to keep all of you prisoner. Do we have a deal?" Chase stretched out his hand arrogantly. Kimiko looked uncertainly to Raimundo and the rest of her team. Omi came up to her and put a hand on her arm.

"You must do what you think is right, Kimiko. We will not stand in the way of your decision." he said solemnly. The others nodded in agreement. Kimiko took a deep breath and then, shuddering, she put her hand in Chase's.

"Deal."

* * *

"Before we go, I think I'll make this just a bit more interesting." Chase said, and snapped his fingers. The strands from the Tangle Web Comb flew off of Rai, and he stood up and walked over to where Kimiko and the rest were. In a flash of light, Rai was wearing his Shoku robes again, and Kimiko her Hanikara robes.

"The clock is ticking. You had better get moving." Chase said before walking off into the darkness with Kiyomi and his cats at his side. As soon as he was gone, Raimundo and Kimiko threw their arms around each other.

"I was starting to plot ways to avenge your possible death." Kimiko said, her voice muffled because she had buried her face in Rai's chest.

"I'm not dead yet, bella." Rai soothed her. Keeping one arm around her shoulders, Rai turned to face the group.

"Alright, here's the plan." he said in a businesslike tone.

"There are two Shen Gong Wu, so chances are that Chase and..." Rai faltered as he stole a glance at Kimiko.

"Just call her Kiyomi. That is her name, after all." Kimiko said in a dead voice.

"Ok. Chase and Kiyomi are going to split up. So that's what we should do. There are six of us, so we'll split into groups of three. Omi, Emeline, you two are coming withme. Clay, Lilia, you two are going with Kimiko. It's really important that we find the Wu first, so put all of your efforts into finding them." he urged.

"Say your goodbyes now." Rai said in a softer tone. Lilia and Omi hugged each other tightly, while Emeline and Clay shared a kiss. Standing on her tiptoes, Kimiko reached up to give Rai a kiss. He scooped her up so as to make it easier to reach.

"I love you." he said once he had put her down.

"I love you too." she whispered back. She gave him one last smile before turning away.

"Omi, Emmy, you two had better make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Kimikosaid with a half smile.

"Don't worry Kim. We'll be careful." Emmy said as she gave Kimiko a hug.

"With me around, there will be no trouble at all!" Omi puffed out his chest as Kimiko giggled.

"Come on, we'd better get going." Rai instructed to Omi and Em. The three of them walked off, the black fog cloaking them all over.

"We should go too." Kimiko sighed, so she, Clay, and Lilia started walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Hey, isn't that Chase?" Emeline asked, squinting into the dark. Rai, Omi, and Emeline had been searching for hours now and still had not found anything.

"I think so. Should we follow him?" Omi suggested to Rai.

"No! We have to get ahead of him!" Rai exclaimed, pointing ahead of Chase. There, clearly visible in the inky darkness, were the Xiaolin Gauntlets.

"Run!" Omiyelled, as the three of them sprinted to try to keep up with Chase. As Chase realized that the Xiaolin Warriors were gaining on him, he too started to run.

The Xiaolin Gauntlets glowed as two hands touched the Wu at the same time.

"Chase Young, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" Rai growled.

* * *

"This is gonna take forever!" Lilia threw her hands in the air, exasperated.

"Just be patient Lilia. We'll find it somehow." Clay assured her, sounding more confident than he felt. Kimiko, meanwhile, was having a discussion with her inner dragon.

'Can't you help us find the Ying Yo Yo?' Kimiko thought desperately.

'I am a lot like your friend Dojo. I can pinpoint the exact locations of Shen Gong Wu.'

'Really?! That's great! So where do we go?'

'You are going in the right direction. It shouldn't be far now. Keep looking, Mistress.'

"OK, my dragon says that we're going in the right direc-" Kimiko abruptly cut off as she saw Kiyomi cross her field of vision.

"Oh no." Lilia moaned.

"She's gonna get to the Wu first!" Clay exclaimed.

"Not if I can help it." Kimiko said through her teeth. She and the others started running to catch up to Kiyomi and the Ying Yo Yo. Unfortunatley for Kimiko, she wasn't the only one to get the Wu first.

"Tohomiko Kimiko, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown." Kiyomi said, her brown eyes boring into Kimiko's blue eyes.

* * *

The scenes changed at the same time, and all four players of the cosmic game said the war cry at the same time.

"Gong yi tampai!"

* * *

**Me: Finally finished! Review please, because I am a review addict and I also need my fix. Ciao!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Me: What goes on peoples? Once again, I am super sorry for the lack of updates but if one of you wants to send me a laptop so i could update faster, then i have no qualms about that!**

**Cari: You're not gonna con people into sending you laptops, ya kno.**

**Me: It's not a con because im telling the truth!**

**Cari: Right, right. (rolls eyes)**

**Me: Whatever. Anyways, on with the show!**

* * *

"Blade of Elements! Wind and water!" Raimundo twirled the sword around to make a giant whirlpool and sent it straight to Chase. Chase easily dodged it and aimed a powerful punch at Rai, which sent him flying across the fighting field. The game was to basically fight until one of them could fight no more. Whoever came out victorious won the Xiaolin Gauntlets, the Blade of Elements, and the Fist of Tebigong.

"You'll have to do much better than that, Raimundo." Chase taunted. Rai gritted his teeth.

"Shoku Dragon Ventus!" he yelled, sending blades of razor-sharp wind at him. The blades managed to hit their mark, leaving Chase to clutch his chest in pain. The razors were so powerful that they managed to slice through his body armor.

"Fist of Tebigong!" Chase activated the Wu and charged at Rai. He managed to dodge it and propel himself away from Chase.

'I hope Kimiko's doing better than I am.' he thought to himself before charging Chase head-on.

* * *

"Judolei Flip!" Kimiko yelled, jumping to avoid an attack from Kiyomi. So far, Kiyomi had done all of the attacking, while Kimiko just used defensive moves.

"Come on Kimi-cat! Kick her butt so we can win the Wu and get home!" Lilia hollered from the sidelines.

'I have to attack her.' Kimiko kept mentally repeating to herself. But no matter how much she tried she just couldn't bring herself to do it. This was her own mother, for crying out loud! Granted, her mom had died when Kimiko was 7 and Kimiko had already accepted her mother's death. But just seeing her face brought back long buried memories. The worst part about fighting her mother was that Kiyomi still hadn't said a word. It would have been a bit bearable if she had started flinging insults to her, but complete silence was horrible.

Lost too deep in her thoughts, Kimiko didn't see that Kiyomi was doing a roundhouse kick until it was too late. The kick knocked the wind out of her and sent her flying into the darkness.

"Kimiko!" Clay cried, but Lilia put a hand on his shoulder.

"She's fine, I see her." she pointed. And sure enough, Kimiko was getting to her feet.

"This is bad. I still remember when Omi had to fight his own mother. Yeah, she wasn't his real mom, it was just a robot, but the little feller still thought she was his mom, which made it really hard for him to fight her. We need to help her realize that woman out there isn't her mother. Because her mother would never attack her own daughter. Ever." Clay said determinedly.

"You're right." Lilia responded. Turning back to the Showdown, she started yelling.

"Kimiko Tohomiko, you listen to me! You have always told us that your mother was the sweetest, kindest, most caring woman you have ever known. Even though that person you are fighting may have your mother's face, she doesn't have her soul, her warmth, her love for you!"

"Chase is just manipulating you so that you can throw the Showdown! Don't let him win Kimiko! You are much stronger than he thinks you are! He thinks you're just a weak girl who doesn't have the guts to stand up for herself. Prove him wrong!" Clay yelled alongside Lilia.

With every word they yelled, it was like her confidence was rising more and more.

"I can do this. She is not my mother. She is not my mother. YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!" Kimiko screamed, lashing out furiously. The already intense battle got even hotter as Kimiko finally found the will to fight. Using everything she had ever learned at the Xiaolin Temple, Kimiko met Kiyomi head on with a renewed fighting spirit. The two fought and fought until finally, they both fell to their knees.

"Get up Kimiko and finish it!" Lilia encouraged her.

Struggling to breath because of some broken ribs, Kimiko slowly got to her feet and walked over to Kiyomi. Kiyomi was in much worse shape than Kimiko, and she didn't look like she would be able to take another hit. As she was about to deliver the final blow, Kiyomi looked straight at Kimiko with tearful eyes. Kimiko hesitated, suddenly unsure if she could hit her one last time.

"Do it." whispered Kiyomi. Kimiko stared, wide eyed, into her face.

"Set me free from Chase." she continued, a tortured expression on her face. The tears were falling on both the women's faces.

"Mom..." Kimiko choked out, unable to say more.

"Please. I don't want to hurt you anymore." she said before hiding her face once more.

"I'm sorry." Kimiko whispered before kicking Kiyomi in the stomach and sending her tumbling across the floor. As she came to a stop a few feet away from Kimiko, Kimiko ran up to her and kneeled down next to her.

"Arigato, Kimi-chan." Kiyomi smiled through her pain as she started to dissolve right in front of Kimiko's eyes. Finally, Kiyomi was gone and left in her place was a small Chi bottle. The scene changed and the Shroud of Shadows, the Golden Tiger Claws, and the Ying Yo Yo all appeared at Kimiko's feet. She picked up the Chi bottle and kissed it.

"I love you." she whispered as Clay and Lilia walked up to her. Kimiko turned to hand them the Shen Gong Wu.

"You ok?" Clay asked. Kimiko just nodded.

"You know we're always there for you, right? If you want to talk..." Lilia put an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah. Thanks. We should go find the others." Kimiko said automatically. She shrugged off Lilia's arm and started walking away. After a shared worried glance, Clay and Lilia followed.

* * *

"So, quick question Chase. You know, before we end up killing each other." Rai panted, clutching his arm. So far, Rai and Chase were evenly matched. While they both were severely injured, neither looked like they were going to back down.

"What?" Chase spat.

"You brought Kiyomi back with the Gem of Life." Rai began, but at the sound of Chase chuckling he stopped.

"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to figure it out. So go ahead, ask me." Chase grinned darkly.

"No need. You just answered my question. Kimiko told me that the police ruled Kiyomi's death as accidental. But there was no accident, was there? The only way you could have used the Gem of Life is if you had killed her." Rai's hands balled up into fists.

"Congratulations, you figured it out. That was when I was on my killing spree. She just happened to be one of my victims. The very first time I saw Kimiko, I knew that she was Kiyomi's daughter. I thought about bringing it up, but then realized i could use it to my advantage. There's no way Kimiko will ever fight her own mother." Chase smirked evilly, which pushed Rai over the edge.

"You killed her mother. You caused her pain. You don't deserve to live!" Rai roared, sending blade after blade after blade to Chase, everyone of them hitting its mark. Finally, Chase collapsed, deep cuts up and down his body.

"I win." Raimundo announced, as the Wu appeared in front of him. He turned, and was surprised to see not only Omi and Emeline, but Kimiko, Clay and Lilia as well. Kimiko walked right past Rai and forcefully kicked Chase's face in.

"You might want to check if he's dead. For his sake, he better be." Kimiko said coldly.

"You heard." Rai concluded.

"I didn't have to. He used the Gem of Life right in front of me, remember?" she said, still staring down hatefully at Chase.

"I'm so sorry Kimiko. I'm sorry for all the pain and suffering he's put you through. You didn't deserve any of that." Rai said, pulling Kimiko into a tight hug, where she finally broke down into tears. Emeline kneeled down beside Chase to check for a pulse.

"Good." she said when she found none.

"So he's really dead this time?" Lilia asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Good riddance." Omi said.

"So we're just gonna leave him here to rot?" Clay asked to clarify.

"I don't see why not. We have both of the Yo Yo's. No one's gonna come to the Ying Yang World. Besides, he doesn't deserve to be buried." Rai said, drying Kimiko's tears with his thumb.

"But just to be sure...I brought along something extra." Lilia pulled out the Kuzusu Atom out of her robes.

"You wanna do the honors?" she asked, handing it to Kim. Kimiko nodded, wiping the rest of the tears away.

"Kuzusu Atom!" she yelled, pointing it at Chase. The blast was so great that when it disappeared, there was absolutley no trace of Chase Young at all.

"We should go now. I already left my mom's Chi bottle on the shelves." Kimiko said quietly, giving the Wu back to Lilia.

"Ying Yang Yo Yo!" Rai activated the Wu and opened a portal to the real world. Everyone climbed through, none with the intention of ever coming back.

* * *

**Me: Hmmm. I've been rereading this entire series so far, and ive noticed that Rai, Kim, Clay and Omi are all a bit OOCish. I hadn't really noticed that til just now. But finally, another chapter finished! Please review for my starving soul!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Me: o.O Whoa. I think this may very well be the last chapter in this story.**

**Cari: Huh. I honestly didn't think you'd make it through another story, but i guess i was wrong.**

**Me: But i have made my decision, and I'm going to continue the Thunder and Lightning series!**

**Cari: That's a relief, considering you don't put me in any of your other stories.**

**Me: I forget, ok! Anyways, i was checking my stats, and apperently, there are 35 ppl that have me on author alert, yet i only get 3-5 reviews per chapter.**

**Cari: Ouch.**

**Me: Yeah, i know. I would reallly appreciate it if instead of just reading and leaving, you guys could actually leave a review and tell me how i did, or something. Not too much to ask, really. Btw, i should mention that the italics later in the chapter is a flashback. Alrighty, on to the show!**

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_One Year Later_

Kimiko walked outside into the sunshine and took a deep breath of fresh air. The sky was clear, the air was clean, the flowers were vibrant. And best of all...

'Happy birthday to me!' Kimiko thought happily as she strolled through the garden on her way to the kitchens. The odd thing was, she didn't spot anyone at all on her way, not even Dojo.

"Where is everyone?" she wondered aloud. She got her answer as soon as she walked in the kitchen.

"SURPRISE! Happy Birthday!" they all yelled as she turned on the lights. Kimiko let out peals of laughter as she spotted the chocolate cake on the table.

"Happy birthday Kimi-cub!" Lilia grabbed her in a tight hug.

"Aww, thank you guys so much!" Kimiko gushed as they all took their turns giving the birthday girl a hug. Finally, it was Rai's turn.

"Happy birthday bella." he whispered in her ear as he swept her up in a kiss. Kim threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight. When they broke apart, she grinned cheekily at him.

"Cake for breakfast, yum yum!" Rai burst into laughter as he set her down. Even at 20 years old, Kimiko was still tiny and petite as always.

After the six warriors returned from the Ying Yang World, Kimiko fell into a deep depression that not even Raimundo could bring her out of it. She stopped eating as much, sleeping, talking, smiling, everything. It got to the point where she would just spend the day staring at the wall, not saying a word. She lost her spirit, her passion. She lost her fire. Until one day, Rai couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

_"Kimiko." Rai called her name. She didn't respond, just stood there, staring at him with souless eyes. Rai sighed and ran a hand through his hair._

_'I really hope she won't hate me for what I'm about to do, but this is for her own good.' he thought sadly before roughly grabbing her hand and yanking her towards the fighting field. The really sad part was, Kim didn't even resist, not even a single protest. Once there, he let go of her and whirled around to face her. Then, Rai did something that he would never forgive himself for. He hit her so hard that she fell to the ground. She raised her head and held her cheek, her wide blue eyes filling her face. Rai then took a deep breath and began to yell._

_"Just what the hell is wrong with you Kimiko?! Are you seriously gonna sit there and take that? The old Kimiko would have beat me to a pulp if I had ever hit her like that! You need to pull yourself together girl, because our team needs a second-in-command they can count on, and right now, you. are. useless." Rai said furiously. His heart began to race when he saw a hint of a spark in her eye, but to get it into a flame, he needed to do more._

_"Right now, you don't deserve to be Hanikara, much less Wudai. In fact, you don't even deserve to be a Xiaolin Warrior. Maybe I should just send you home back to Japan. Because you're certainly not doing any good here. And what's worse is....you're not the girl I love anymore. The girl I loved was firey, she was passionate, she was my best friend. Now, you are nothing. And I don't want a girl who is nothing." Rai tried to keep on a straight face but the lump in his throat made it hard. He turned his back on her and prepared to continue when suddenly a powerful punch sent him flying across the field. He scrambled to sit up when she grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him up to her eye level._

_"You listen, and you listen good. Don't you _ever _hit me like that ever again or you will end up 6 feet under. And you had better remember one more thing. You. Are. Mine. Nothing will ever change that. Got it?" Kimiko growled, the fire in her eyes a full inferno now. Before Rai could even think to respond, she had pulled him into a passionate kiss. By the time they pulled apart, they both were gasping for air._

_"Thank you." Kim breathed into Rai's ear before helping him up off the ground._

* * *

And ever since then, she'd been back to her old self again.

"So where are my presents?" Kimiko asked jokingly.

"Ah ah, you aren't even allowed to see the boxes. Not until tonight, anyways." Emeline said, wagging a finger at her.

"While they are busy planning you're party, don't bother objecting we're gonna do it whether you want it or not, I will have the opportunity of taking you out for a day off." Rai grinned down at her. At his words, Kimiko got a gleam in her eye, which Rai immediately distrusted.

"Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking." Rai asked, his hope fading away as he saw the slow smile creep onto Kimiko's face.

"You know what this means, dontcha Rai?" she asked, turning to him. The color drained from his face.

"Oh _hell _no." Rai moaned.

"SHOPPING!" Kimiko squealed, which was the very beginning of Rai's worst nightmare. Spending the day alone with Kimiko was amazing, but unfortunately, he would be the one to carry ALL of her bags.

"Poor Rai. He'll never make it out alive." Lilia said sympathetically.

"Thanks Lil." Rai said sarcastically.

"We'd better get going! The earlier we leave, the more shopping I can do!" Kimiko giggled at the look on Rai's face.

"I'll go get the Silver Manta Ray!" Kimiko ran off. Before Rai could join her, Lilia put a hand on his shoulder.

"Remember what we talked about earlier. You had better ask her by the end of the day, or so help me God you will be on the receiving end of one of my attacks." she warned, a look of death on her face.

"I know, I know. Relax, I will." he assured her before walking out. Rai went to the Shen Gong Wu vault only to find Kimiko in a completely different outfit than the one she was wearing a few minutes ago.

"How...never mind." he shook his head. Kimiko pulled him by the hand.

"Come on, lets go!" she pushed him into the driver's seat before sitting in the passenger side.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent in Paris, Kimiko dragging Rai to the best stores in the city and leaving every single one of them with Rai carrying mountains of shopping bags. Throughout the day, it was apparent that Raimundo was getting more and more nervous about something, but every time Kimiko commented on it, he readily denied it. So eventually she just stopped asking.

By the time the sun set, Kimiko had over 60 shopping bags, all ready to be taken back to the temple.

"I hope you had a great day." Rai commented, shrinking the bags with the Changing Chopsticks so that they would all fit in the Silver Manta Ray.

"I had an awesome time. Thank you so much." Kimiko squeezed his hand, her eyes conveying the love she felt for him.

"Don't thank me just yet. The day's still not over, remember? Let's go home so we can celebrate properly." he grinned his familiar grin which always set Kimiko at ease.

"Alright!" she yelled, pumping her fist in the air. Rai chuckled as they climbed in.

When they got home, the night was starry and the full moon was high in the sky.

'Perfect.' Rai thought to himself.

"Hey, bella? After you're done putting away everything, could you meet me in garden? I want to give you your present." he smiled brilliantly at her.

"Oh you didn't have to get me anything! Just being you is enough for me! But sure." she grinned at him in the darkness.

"Great! I'll see ya then." he waved as she walked off. As soon as he couldn't see her Rai started to take deep breaths to calm himself down. After all, what he was about to do was a bit nerve-wracking.

Raimundo walked to the garden and sat on the edge of the fountain. He pulled out the small blue box and looked at what was inside. The diamond ring was nestled in the velvet lining of the box, the diamond sapphire blue in color.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him and quickly put away the box. Kimiko appeared, once again dressed in a different outfit. This time she was wearing a simple white dress which accented her body beautifully and her long raven black hair shone in the light of the moon. Rai was actually struck speechless at the sight of her. She smiled gently when she saw him and walked up to him.

"Hi." she said, sitting next to him.

"Hi yourself." he smiled.

"So?" she prompted. Rai took one last deep breath before beginning.

"Kimiko, you are the very best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm not just glad that you and I are in love. I'm glad because we were able to meet, to become best friends, and then something more. I'm glad to have been able to share my life with you, and to have been able to be a part of your life as well. You are the fire to my wind, the soul to my life, the sun to my universe. You are my life, my very existence. I've never felt this way before, and now that I do, I can't help it. I love you so much. You are the very essence of beauty. You are my beauty. My _bella_. And now, I would like to ask you something very important." Rai got off the fountain and slid to one knee. Kimiko gasped as she figured out where this was going.

"Kimiko, my love, will you marry me?"

All it took was one whispered word.

"Yes."

* * *

**Me: 10 points to the person who can figure out which quote i took from one of my other stories and where i used it! Finally I am finished!!! Thank you so so so so so much to everyone who have been sticking with me since the beginning, you guys are so amazing and i am eternally grateful for all the nice reviews ive gotten so far. And yes, once again, there will be another story following this one soon, so be ready to watch for it, k? love you guys! (gives out hugs and cookies)**


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